Roger had only been gone a week, but the changes in the station were obvious even in that short time. For one, there were more people. So after his shuttle docked he took the long way back to his room, stopping to grab some food when he noticed the bar looking more like a bar, complete with patrons. Female patrons.
Space was full of beautiful people.
Like that one over there, sitting at the bar by herself. Not good. Dropping his bag on one of the nearby tables, he seated himself next to her and ordered a Risan mai-tai, using the opportunity to get a better look at her legs.
Helen couldn't remember the last time she'd seen such a fake smile.
"Doctor Helen Noel," she responded, smiling herself and shaking his hand firmly. "I just got here myself. It feels like midafternoon to me, but they tell me it's much later."
"Two lonely travelers. How sad." He got his drink, a little fruitier than he was used to, yet tasty. "Might I inquire as to your specialization, Doctor Noel?"
Lonely? That was interesting. Helen hadn't said anything about being lonely.
But she let it pass without comment.
"Of course," she responded, instead, crossing her legs as she turned slightly to face Korby. "I'm a psychiatrist."
She watched him, waiting for his reaction, wondering if he would get flustered, or make his excuses and disappear, as so many men seemed to when she revealed what she did for a living.
"That is fascinating," he said, facing her. Nice figure, too. "Dabbling in minds, so to speak." Taking another drink, he leaned back against the bar, looked out over the few patrons before looking again at her.
"Sounds uniquely intimate. Enjoy your work?" he asked, finding himself genuinely curious for some reason.
"Yes, I do," Helen replied. "It's very rewarding, but very stressful. One of the first things they teach you is how to recognize your own limits. When it's time to take a break and unwind."
"Looking for someone?" she added, as he glanced casually around the bar.
"Not really," he laughed a little. "Don't know many people here on the base, but there's more inhabitants each time I emerge from the depths of my room and unwind, as you say."
He looked over her once more, then grinned again. "You aren't analyzing me, are you?"
Well. Maybe she was, a little. But not intentionally. It was second nature, at this point in her career. Observing people, trying to figure out how they ticked.
She smiled.
"Just because I'm not based in a lab doesn't mean I bring my work everywhere with me," she replied, "any more than you do, Doctor." She raised her eyebrows. "A doctor of what, exactly?"
"Academia," Roger told her, shrugging a shoulder. "Nothing as glamorous as your work, I'm sure. Digging old artifacts and writing papers." Of course she was analyzing him. He was interesting.
Starbase 69 seemed full of the sort that might need professional therapy. "Out of curiosity, were you sent here because the inhabitants are of the more displaced variety? Or were you just looking for someplace new?" he asked, giving her another smile, and waving the bartender over to freshen up her drink.
"Glamorous?" Helen grinned. "I wouldn't call it that." She enjoyed it, yes, but her work tended to involve a lot of sitting in dirty prison cells being cursed at, and not a lot of glamor.
"Neither," she replied, with one eye and half her brain on the bartender as he came over and took her glass - yes, all right. She could handle one more. "I actually followed two of my patients here. New transfers." She smiled, resting her chin on one hand as she glanced up at him. "But I'm always taking new patients."
"How dedicated," Roger said, taking another deep drink. "They must be important patients... or very important to you," he added, giving her a knowing look.
"Some patients are more equal than others," Roger told her, giving her another look, the one that said 'I understand' - it usually worked well. "I've taught students, I know what its like. There are some that are special."
Space was full of beautiful people.
Like that one over there, sitting at the bar by herself. Not good. Dropping his bag on one of the nearby tables, he seated himself next to her and ordered a Risan mai-tai, using the opportunity to get a better look at her legs.
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Charming.
Helen turned to face him, making it clear that she'd seen what he was doing. She smiled.
"Good evening," she said, a hint of amusement in her tone.
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Extending his hand, he nodded at her. "Professor Roger Korby, at your service." Older than his usual foray, but still, quite the looker.
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"Doctor Helen Noel," she responded, smiling herself and shaking his hand firmly. "I just got here myself. It feels like midafternoon to me, but they tell me it's much later."
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But she let it pass without comment.
"Of course," she responded, instead, crossing her legs as she turned slightly to face Korby. "I'm a psychiatrist."
She watched him, waiting for his reaction, wondering if he would get flustered, or make his excuses and disappear, as so many men seemed to when she revealed what she did for a living.
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"Sounds uniquely intimate. Enjoy your work?" he asked, finding himself genuinely curious for some reason.
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"Looking for someone?" she added, as he glanced casually around the bar.
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He looked over her once more, then grinned again. "You aren't analyzing me, are you?"
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She smiled.
"Just because I'm not based in a lab doesn't mean I bring my work everywhere with me," she replied, "any more than you do, Doctor." She raised her eyebrows. "A doctor of what, exactly?"
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Starbase 69 seemed full of the sort that might need professional therapy. "Out of curiosity, were you sent here because the inhabitants are of the more displaced variety? Or were you just looking for someplace new?" he asked, giving her another smile, and waving the bartender over to freshen up her drink.
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"Neither," she replied, with one eye and half her brain on the bartender as he came over and took her glass - yes, all right. She could handle one more. "I actually followed two of my patients here. New transfers." She smiled, resting her chin on one hand as she glanced up at him. "But I'm always taking new patients."
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